The Marburg Mercenaries, German Football League quarterfinalists in 2017, have signed Austrian national team quarterback Alexander Thury to lead their offense in 2018.

The 6’1″, 196 lb, 23 year old Thury from Vienna, Austria, is a product of the Vienna Vikings and has been the Austrian national team quarterback since 2014. He started at quarterback for the Vikings for two seasons (2015, 2016) taking the team to the Austrian final in 2015.

The Mercenaries had the number three passing offense in 2017, and reached the German quarterfinals, falling to the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes.

This move by Marburg, to rely on a European quarterback instead of an American, is unusual but not unprecedented. The Schwabisch Hall Unicorns have been one of Germany’s elite teams for many with Marco Ehrenfried at quarterback, winning the German Bowl in 2017. The last time,Marburg relied on a European quarterback was in 2012 when German quarterback Joachim “Jo” Ullrich led the Mercenaries to the German quarterfinals.

Marburg president Carsten Dalkowski:

“In many ways, I recognize parallels to “Jo” Ullrich, above all, the ability to understand and analyze football in its entirety.”

Dale Heffron, head coach of the Mercenaries:

.”When it became clear that Alex could continue his medical studies in Marburg, the decision was also made for us. Alex, with his passing arm and agility, will certainly cause major problems for our opponents.”

Check out Alexander Thury’s 2015 highlights

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